


Call Me by Your Name

by Marrilyn



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Cute, Cutesy, F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, Nicknames
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 14:50:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17941790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marrilyn/pseuds/Marrilyn
Summary: Rowena hates nicknames, and with good reason. You, on the other hand, adore them.





	Call Me by Your Name

Rowena hated nicknames.

You, on the other hand, adored them.

Not a day went by without you slipping a cutesy name into the conversation and following it up with a kiss in hopes of warming her up to it. Each and every time she groaned, rolled her eyes, and told you loud and clear she refused to be called whatever it was you'd called her.

The only ones she allowed were sweetheart, honey, and, on occasion, baby. Everything else was off limits.

You couldn't comprehend that. It would be one thing if you were insulting her. But calling her "cutie pie" when she scrunched her face adorably or "lovely baby" when she curled up against like a kitten was harmless. You genuinely meant those things, genuinely found her cute and adorable and absolutely irresistible. All you wanted was to express it in words.

She never let you.

Today, after yet another groan and irritated eye-roll, you decided to finally confront her about it.

"What's wrong with 'baby doll?'" you asked.

"It's degrading," Rowena replied.

"It's not," you argued. In fact, it was anything but. "You never let me call you love names."

"Because your 'love names—'" she made quotes with her fingers "—are terrible."

"No, they're not."

"Yes, they are."

Okay, so maybe they were a tad too cutesy at times, but they weren't terrible. And they certainly didn't warrant her reaction.

"And they're insulting," she added.

You scowled at her. "I have never insulted you in my life."

Except that one time in the bedroom when the two of you agreed to try out a humiliation game. It took two insults for you to declare the game to be over. You'd spent the rest of the night feeling guilty. Calling her awful things wasn't in your nature, even if she'd encouraged you to do it.

Rowena sighed. "They feel patronizing."

"I've never done that, either."

_ "You _ haven't," she trailed off, suddenly quiet. Her gaze shifted sideways, away from your prodding one that demanded answers. Away from you. She didn't want to face you. She  _ couldn't _ face you.

"What's that supposed to mean?" You felt stupid as soon as the words fell from your mouth, realization of what she'd said dawning on you like a splash of cold water straight to the face. "Did someone hurt you?"

Rowena was silent for a moment. Then her eyes fell to her hands in her lap and she said, quiet as a mouse, "Aye." She took another pause, sucked in a breath. "You'd be surprised how even the kindest words can hurt in the right context."

A sharp ache ripped through your heart. Whoever it was that had hurt her, you wanted to make them pay.

"He'd promised me the world," she continued. A small chuckle left her mouth, depreciative, mocking. Cursing her out for allowing herself to fall for the words that were as empty as they were sweet, as empty as the heart of the man who'd uttered them. "I was his everything, he'd said. His wild rose. His beautiful wee girl. His angel." Another chuckle dripping with poison, filled to the brim with scorn. "Then he took one look at me, weak and bloody, with a screaming bairn in my arms, and went back to his grand wife and his grand house while I lay dying in a filthy barn. That look… I could tell right then and there that everything he'd told me was a lie. All those things he called me meant nothing."

You took a seat next to her and reached for her hand. It was warm, skin soft and delicate. You twined your fingers through hers and squeezed, squeezed the hardest you could, until your hand started hurting. A grip of comfort, of love, of all promises you'd made that you intended to keep.

"He's a bastard," you said. He was worse than a bastard, but you couldn't think of a strong enough word to encompass the rage and disgust you felt for him. "I wish he was still alive so I could kick his ass."

Rowena smiled at that. You offered her a smile of your own.

"I won't do what he did," you told her. "Never." You would rather die than hurt her like that.

She let out a breath. "I know."

It warmed your heart. You knew she trusted you, but it always made you happy when she said it out loud. "I really, really love you. And when I call you cute things, I mean them."

She was adorable. She was sweet. She was lovely. Those were facts, and you were just stating them.

"I know," she repeated. "They just bring back unpleasant memories."

It made sense. You'd experienced similar things yourself, people being nice to you for the sole purpose of making a mockery out of you. It had made it hard for you to trust anyone for a while. Then Rowena came along and you instantly trusted her. You supposed it was because she'd never pretended. She'd made it clear from the very start that she'd wanted to teach you how to use your magic solely for her benefit. You were okay with that. Then she'd ditched that persona and became nice and fell for you, and that you were even more okay with. Because you knew her change was genuine. She may have bullshitted other people, but not you. Never you.

"I'm sorry," you said, and you meant it. Her comfort was more important than a bunch of cutesy words. "I'll ditch the nicknames."

To your surprise, Rowena shook her head. "Don't. They…" Her face flushed beet red. "They're sort of endearing."

"Really?"

She nodded.

"If some of them bother you, I won't use them."

Another nod. "They're fine. For the most part."

You grinned. "I take it that means you're fine with 'adorable little baby witch.'"

Rowena glared, forefinger rising up threateningly. "Don't push it."

A hearty roar of laughter escaped you before you could try to stop it. "God, I love you!"

"Likewise, darling."

She pressed her mouth to yours. The kiss was soft, sweet, warm with love and devotion and everything nice. Just like her.

**Author's Note:**

> Edited by OswinTheStrange.


End file.
